1. Field of Invention
The invention relates to a headgear holding device for use with a sewing machine.
2. Description of Related Art
A conventional multiple-needle embroidery machine is provided with a headgear holder that can move along a horizontal axis intersecting the path of a vertically moving sewing needle and can rotate about the horizontal axis. A headgear, such as a cap, is set on the headgear holder with its visor facing upward.
There are two conventional methods for setting a headgear on the headgear holder. In one method, as shown in FIG. 17, a sewing needle 402 is supported by an arm 401 of an embroidery machine so as to be vertically movable, and a headgear holder (not shown) is mounted to the embroidery machine so as to be movable along a horizontal axis intersecting the path of the vertically moving sewing needle 402 and to be rotatable about the horizontal axis. A cap 403 is set on the headgear holder with its visor 404 facing upward. In this case, the visor 404 makes contact with and rubs against the arm 401 when the headgear holder is moved and, as a result, the surface of the visor 404 becomes partially shiny, shabby, or damaged.
In the other method, as shown in FIG. 18, a visor support 405 is fixed to a headgear holder so as to support the visor 404 of the cap 403 at an angle. The visor 404 of the cap 403 is forcibly bent with respect to the visor support 405. The tip of the visor 404 is lowered so that contact between the visor 404 and the arm 401 is prevented during sewing. In this case, because the visor 404 is greatly deformed, the cap remains deformed after sewing and, as a result, its commercial value is reduced.
The invention provides a headgear holding device that addresses the forgoing problems and prevents, when the headgear holding device is moved, contact between the visor of a cap set in the headgear holding device and an arm of an embroidery machine, which causes a shiny and shabby appearance of the visor or damage to the visor, and also prevents deformation of the visor, which reduces the commercial value of the cap.
According to one aspect of the invention, a headgear holding device of a sewing machine includes a headgear holder that holds a headgear with a visor while being moved along a horizontal axis intersecting a path of a vertically moving sewing needle and rotated about the horizontal axis; a visor support member that supports the visor of the headgear held on the headgear holder at an angle with respect to the horizontal axis; and an angle adjusting member that adjusts an angle of inclination of the visor supported by the visor support member.
In this headgear holding device of the sewing machine, the bending angle of the visor can be adjusted by adjusting the angle of inclination of the visor support member. Accordingly, when the headgear holding device is moved, the visor of the cap set in the headgear holding device will not contact or rub against the arm of the sewing machine. As a result, the visor is prevented from becoming partially shiny, shabby, or damaged, and the commercial value of the cap is not reduced.
Additionally, the angle adjusting member has a fixed member fixed to the headgear holder and a pivot member pivotably attached to the fixed member. With this structure, the visor can be supported by the visor support member at an arbitrary angle with respect to the horizontal axis.